Bees play a critical role in sustaining Earth's ecosystems as well as human agricultural practices. In addition to providing honey, wax, and other useful products, bees provide a natural, eco-friendly mechanism for pollinating plants. The pollinating behavior of bees has been embraced by commercial and hobby farmers and around the world as a sustainable way to pollinate their crops. Today, nearly one-third of crops grown around the world are pollinated by bees. In practice, farmers typically maintain one or more bee colonies in beehives placed in proximity to their crops. Bee colonies are complex systems that can be affected by a number of factors including pests, pathogens, pesticides, predators, poor nutrition, climate, disease, and even theft. In order to ensure their bee colonies thrive, it may be beneficial for the beekeeper and crop grower to monitor the health and pollination effectiveness of his or her beehives.